Leaks have been found in the vacuum of the Large Hadron Collider's insulating layer, causing yet another postponement of its restart from October to November.
The £2.7bn LHC machine - a particle accelerator in a 17 mile-long tunnel under the French and Swiss borders at Geneva - was set to restart in October, after a previous …

COMMENTS

Inevitable

Much as I support scientific research - even that which may create a swirling black hole of doom and suck us all into a fiery maelstrom of death - in this economic climate I would rather see the UK's contribution go towards our own numerous problems. Perhaps we could pay Gordon Brown to p*ss off with it.

-316 Fahrenheit?

Was this reference to Fahrenheit added in by the article author or the CERN staff?! If the latter, then perhaps all the troubles have been caused by conversion factors.

Miles, feet and inches are useful for real-world stuff, but when it comes to engineering and theoretical physics they're a PITA. The only times any engineer should be using Imperial units is when dealing with legacy hardware that was designed and built in Imperial units (i.e. steam engines and... ermm... steam engines) or when describing something informally ("the ATLAS detector is about 150 feet long")

Hmmm, a leak in a vacuum?

doh!

monies

As much as I too would be doubtful of starting a megascience project right now, I think that withdrawing support *after* the megabucks have been spent, just to save the upkeep, would be exceptionally myopic.

The blessed thing has been built already - it has some kinks to work out, but the major part of the investment has already been done. Who would spend a million to build a house, and then refuse to spend a few thousands to furnish it so they can actually use it? Shutting down the project now would mean that all that money has been spent for nothing.

@ Get on with it!

Pull the plug...

Pull the plug on our funding of this, and put the entire load in to ITER and fusion research, something which may alter our lives forever versus an experiment which might show us that there really is a gravity boson. whoop.

Yeah.. riiight..

"said that the damage was caused by a faulty splice in the high-current superconducting cable"

Like any of us are going to believe that. Science fiction abounds with comments like "the simplest explanation is usually the truth" and other such sage advice.. and the simplest explanation is that the monsters they ripped from other dimensions in their devil-worshiping apocalypse inducer have borrowed their way out into the world.

It's a well known fact in Alaska that one of them is controlling Sarah Palin, having wormed its way into her brain. Obviously only something that can crawl through micro fractures is small enough to fit in such confined and cramped quarters.

Curiosity econmically unviable, say experts....

No profitable returns can be made from fundamental science, said economic EXPERTS today.

Speaking from their mink-lined thrones wrought of diamond-encrusted platinum, the EXPERT economists presented a mountain of supporting presentations on their unobtainium-clad iphones, proving that CERN's LHC should be dismantled to make room for shoe and fashion sweatshops, and the worlds largest and most efficient rubber dogshit factory, thus fulfilling massive world-wide ECONOMIC demand.

They later went on to describe how the wheel is economically unviable, and how a return to feudal systems and legal slavery would greatly increase profits and economic indicators, and would be welcomed by SHAREHOLDERS, the MOST IMPORTANT BEIGNS IN THE COSMOS.

@G Murphy

Nuclear physics is particle physics which is the primary field of the LHC. Understanding the interraction of particles and the forces that operate on them leads to a better understanding of how to manipulate nuclear particles to close in on the fusion goal.

What you suggest is like saying, I want a faster more efficient car, so put all the money into designing the bodywork and cupholders, but dont spend anything on the motor because we are going to stick with this steam engine!

@ all those who still believe the LHC is capable of creating earth destroying black holes or grey goo - the only black holes are the ones in your heads where the grey goo should be!

Warning, Discovery channel level science, so a few 'facts' might not be. Is any one else worried that these brain boxes who are going to be smashing particles at each other at the speed of light (or whatever), couldn't even design the 'gun' correctly?